As many went that extra mile to give their loved one a treat in the name of romance yesterday evening, they were also making a small contribution to economic growth.
Businesses such as jewellers, florists, perfumeries, confectioneries and restaurants have learnt to capitalise on February 14, which prompts some major retail sales.
According to Lauro Abela of Franks, it’s the second most important occasion after Christmas.
“We don’t invest heavily in promotion, although we do of course dress up our outlets with romance-themed decorations. We offer special gifts when customers spend a certain amount, whereas in our wine boutique, we had a person manufacturing chocolate.”
As the adage goes, when you don’t know how to say it, say it with flowers... or chocolate.
Florists and confectioners depend equally heavily on Valentine’s. “It’s one of our top sales days,” confirmed Melosaul Balzan of Derek Garden Centre.
“When Valentine’s Day falls on a weekday, it’s a good day for us. We register our worst sales whenever it falls on a Sunday. People don’t spend as much – perhaps they prefer to go to restaurants.”
Concurring with Mr Balzan, Joseph Buttigieg from Santa Lucia Confectionery adds that the Maltese love their Belgian chocolates.
202 Jewellers heavily invest in marketing during this period dedicated to love. All their customers were automatically entered into their Valentine’s Day Romantic Escape competition. Apart from advertising, they teamed up with Le Meridien to surprise female diners with a silver ring.
However, perhaps one of the most expansive marketing strategies in Malta was that of Jason Jones, owner of the Me to You stores.
A lot of detailed planning and thousand of euros went into his marketing campaign. “Our Christmas is Valentine’s,” Mr Jones said. “We invest heavily in decorations – the good thing is that we may use our own products. We had lights in the shape of hearts, helium balloons and two large teddy bears roaming the entrances to our Valletta and Msida outlets. We also had three stilt-walkers and fire jugglers.
“As our shop grew, we took more risks in our advertising. We have registered a 40 per cent increase in sales over last year.”
According to Philip Fenech, from the leisure section of the Chamber of Small and Medium Enterprises – GRTU, restaurants registered mixed results.
While the clubbing sector was busy and some restaurants were fully booked, others were slow to amass bookings.
“Many restaurants also informed me that they had a sudden increase in bookings for Friday, indicating that many people are choosing to celebrate Valentine’s during the weekend,” Mr Fenech said.
The Maltese are notorious for last-minute bookings – and many were banking on just that!